Real Madrid are going through a tricky spell currently, and as tends to be the case when things are going poorly, grievances are more readily aired.
According to Relevo, there is a certain discontent about the situation of Nacho Fernandez, especially amongst the older heavyweights in the dressing room.
The 33-year-old defender has been used less often than ever before since he assured his place in the squad, back in 2016. So far this season he has seen just 642 minutes in total, but the difference is most stark in La Liga, where he has played just 7 times for a total of 141 minutes.
In context, last season he played 1,547 minutes in La Liga over the course of the campaign. The dressing room don’t understand why Nacho is not playing instead of Antonio Rudiger, who has made repeated errors when played. In total, the German has been on the pitch 1,435 minutes this season already, more than double that of Nacho.
There is no rift with Rudiger, rather they feel that Nacho deserves to be playing more often. Based on both training and performances on the pitch, the Spaniard has played better.
That loss of internal competition, with selections not made based on form, is one of the reasons credited with influencing their poor run too.
No doubt this is not a major issue, and certainly nothing that won’t be solved by a winning run. It is something to keep an eye on for Ancelotti, who finds the team in a precarious position. More poor results could threaten to inflate these issues, and even cause Ancelotti’s grip on the dressing room to loosen.
The Nacho issue is not helped by the fact he is considering leaving the club, due to his lack of protagonism. The defender’s contract is up at the end of the season and he has not made much progress on a renewal.
